Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

Writing is work and cooking is relaxing.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

In a mystery, the sleuth must be believably involved and emotionally invested in solving the crime.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

Catering is extremely demanding financially and physically. It's a business.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

I like cream cheese in just about anything.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

The main thing I look for in a recipe is taste, which is different from caterers and restaurants, who first ask 'How does it look?'

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

When I make a recipe for the first time and it's fabulous, I know I'm in trouble because I don't know exactly what I did, and I can't replicate it.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

I wanted to be a literary writer, so I wrote story after story and sent them to 'The New Yorker.'

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

After I outlined 'Catering to Nobody,' I went and worked for a caterer. And the other thing I had to do was to talk to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department about how they investigated a crime.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

The thing is, if you make best-sellerdom your goal, you're going to be in trouble. It's a very nice thing to have happen, but if one makes that a goal like, say, a literary writer has the goal of getting the Pulitzer Prize, that's so unpredictable.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

What one's goal should be is just to become a better writer and to tell different kinds of stories.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

I'm always astonished to see how badly people can behave when they think no one is noticing.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

One thing that improved my cooking skills was being a poor student in California... If you don't have much money, you have to learn to cook.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

I write in the morning - and then I'm always experimenting and tasting recipes for the books.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

When I started to write culinary mysteries, I did it because nobody was doing it anymore.

Diane Mott Davidson
Diane Mott Davidson

I told the caterer I'd work for nothing if he'd teach me about catering. I lasted one week full-time. It was exhausting.